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Circular  No    34,  Second  Series.  Revise 


United  States  Department  of  Agricyiti 

BUREAU   OK   KNTOMOI.i 
n (j\V'anu.  p.bt-i 

1 

/    ^.„        HOI  81     kNTB. 

U'  s-  el  al. 

B]  C.  L.  Mabi  mi. 

'  i  of  Clil'  f. 


There  art'  n  Dumber  oi  Bpecies  of  ants  often  occurring  in  bouses,  the 
important  of  which  are  common  t'>  both  hemispheres  and  arc 
probably  of  Old  World  origin.  One  of  these,  the  little  red  anl  {Mono- 
murium  pkaraonis  L. ),  has  become  thoroughly  domesticated  and  p 
ita  entire  existence  in  houses,  having  its  nests  in  the  walls  or  beneath 
the  flooring  ami  usu- 
ally forming  its  new 
colonies  in  similar  fa- 
vorable situations. 
Two  other  ants  are  very 
common  nuisances  in 
bouses,  namely,  the 
Little  black  ant  I  M 
Hoiimriitm  minutum 
Mayr)  ami  the  pave- 
ment ant  o!'  th( 
lantic  seaboard  ( l>  t- 
ramorium  <  cespitum 
L.).  Nunc  of  these 
ants  is  bo  destructive 
to  household  effects  or 
supplies  as  it  is  annoying  from  the  mere  f;u  t  of  its  presence  and  it.n 
faculty  of  "getting  into"  articles  of  food,  particularly  BUgar,  simps, 
and  other  sweets.  Having  once  gained  access  to  store-  of  this  Bort,  the 
-  of  the  discovery  is  at  ome  conveyed  to  the  colony,  and  in  an 

incredibly  short  time  the  premises  are  -warming  with  these  unwelcome 
visit 

HABITS    AND   I. UK    HISTORY. 

In  habits  and  life  history  these  ants  are  all  much  alike  and,  in  com- 
mon with  other  social  insect.-,  present  that  most  complex  and  interest- 
ing phase  of  communal  life,  with  it--  accompanying  division  of  labor 
and  diversity  of  form-  of  individuals,  all  working  together  in  the  most 

perfect  harmony  and  accord.  The  specimens  ordinarily  seen  in  houses 
are  all  neuters,  or  workers.  In  the  colony  itself,  if  it  be  discovered  and 
opened,  will  be  found  also  the  larger  wingless  females  and.  at  the 
proper  season,  the  winged  males  and  females.  During  most  of  the 
year,  however,  the  colony  consists  almost  -  £<  lusively  of  workers,  with 
one  or  more  perfect  wingless  females.      Winged   males  and   females  are 


(..   M 


produced  during  the  summer  and  almost  immediately  take  their  nuptial 
flight.  The  males  soon  perish,  and  the  females  shortly  afterwards  tear 
off  their  own  wings,  which  are  but  feebly  attached,  and  set  about  the 
establishment  of  new  colonies.  The  eggs,  which  are  produced  in 
extraordinary  numbers  by  the  usually  solitary  queen  mother,  are  very 
minute,  oval,  whitish  objects,  and  are  cared  for  by  the  workers,  the 
young  larva;  being  fed  in  very  much  the  same  way  as  in  the  colonies  of 
the  hive  bee.  Toe  so-called  ant  eggs,  in  the  popular  conception,  are 
not  eggs  at  all,  but  the  white  larvae  and  pupae,  and,  if  of  females  or 
males,  are  much  larger  than  the  workers  and  many  times  larger  than 
the  true  eggs. 


Fm.  2.— The  little  black  ant  (Monomorhun  minutum):  a.  Female;  6.  same  with  wings; 
c,  male;  d,  workers;  e,  i>upa;  f.  larva:  ;;.  egg  of  worker.  All  enlarged  (author's 
Illustration). 

THE    RED   ANT. 

As  a  house  species  the  red  ant  (Monomorium  pharaonis  L.)  (fig.  1) 
is  the  common  one.  It  is  practically  cosmopolitan,  and  its  exact  origin 
is  unknown.  This  species,  nesting  habitually  in  the  walls  of  houses  or 
beneath  flooring,  is  often  difficult  to  eradicate.  There  is  no  means  of 
doing  this  except  to  locate  the  nest  by  following  the  workers  back  to 
their  point  of  disappearance.  If  in  a  wall,  the  inmates  of  the  nest  may 
sometimes  be  reached  by  injecting  bisulphid  of  carbon  or  a  little  kero- 
sene. If  under  flooring,  it  may  sometimes  be  possible  to  get  at  them 
by  taking  up  a  section.  Unless  the  colony  can  be  reached  and  destroyed, 
all  other  measures  will  be  of  only  temporary  avail. 

THE   LITTLE    BLACK    ANT. 

The  little  black  ant  {Monomorium  minutum  Mayr)  (fig.  2)  is  not 
strictly  a  house  species,  although  frequently  occurring  indoors  and 
becoming  at  times  quite  as  troublesome  as  the  red  ant.     Its  colonies 


B 

usually  occur  under  stones  in  yards,  bul  are  frequently  found  in  the 

fields,  and  will  be  recognized  from  the  little  pyramids  of  fine 

soil  which  surround  the  entrances  to  the  excavations.     1 1  onies 

be  opened,  they  will  be  found  to  contain  workers  and  usually r 

more  very  much  larger  gravid  femal< 

in  houses,  can  often  be  traced  to  itsoutdooi  i  olony,  and  thi  ction 

of  this  will  prevent  further  trouble. 

i  in.   i-.\\  i;mi:.\  r   an  i  . 

The  pavement  ant  of  our  eastern  cities  (T<  ramorium  ccespitum  L.) 
(ti^.  3)  is  in   Europe  the  common  meadow  ant  and  is  two  or  I 
times  larger  than  either  of  the  other  Bpecies  referred  to.     It  i 
introduced  into  this  country  and,  while  nol  ye(  n  ported  from  the  W  ■  - 
is  very  common  in  eastern  towns,  and  particularly  here  in  Washini 
It  has  readily  accommodated  itself  to  the  conditions  of  urban  existent  <■ 


.  '■  ir-inmrium  MMjntum):  a,   Wiiiu'i'l  female:  b.  snine  without  «  ine- 
e,  mail:  d,  »  orki  j   bead  of  SI  All  eula  rir»-.i    author's 

illn- 

and  commonly  has  its  colonies  under  pavements,  where  it  is  often  diffi- 
cult  of  access,  or  beneath  flagging  or  stones  in  yards,     [tie  often  a  more 
aistent  and  pestilent  house  nuisance  than  the  true  house  ant. 
This  Beems  to  be  the  Bpecies  referred  to  by  Kalm,1  in  1748,  a-  ol 
occurring  in  houses  in  Philadelphia  and  manifesting  a  greal  fondness 
for  sweets.     He  records  also  Borne  interesting  experiments  made  I.- 
Mr. (Benjamin?)  Franklin,  in  licating  the  ability  of  these  am.-  to  i 
municate  with  one  another. 

The  colonies  of  the   pavement    ant    are   often    large,  ami    they  may  be 

frequently  uncovered  in  masses  of  a  quart  or  more  on  turning  over  si 
in  yards  or  lifting  Bagging  in  paths. 

Often  with  little  difficulty  this  ant  may  be  traced  to  its  nest,  which, 
if  accessible  or  not  thoroughly  protected  by  unbroken  pavement, 

asphalt,  can  be  rather  easily  exterminated.  So  well  established  is  the 
Bpecies,  however,  that  new  colonies  will  usually  soon  take  the  place  of 
those  destroyed. 


■  Kalm's  Travels,  Vol.  I.  p.  238. 


r 


UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 


3  1262  09216  4820 

Drenching  the  nests  with  boiling  water  or  saturating  them  with  coal 
oil,  which  latter  also  may  be  introduced  into  cracks  in  pavements  or 
walls,  is  effective  in  abating  the  nuisance  of  this  ant. 

There  are  several  other  ants  closely  resembling  this  last,  mostly 
species  of  Lasius,  some  foreign  and  some  native,  which  form  large 
colonies  in  yards,  throwing  up  earthen  ant  hills,  beneath  which  are 
extensive  systems  of  underground  galleries.  These  may  often  get  into 
near-by  houses  and  become  quite  as  troublesome  as  the  ants  already 
mentioned. 

MEANS    OP    ERADICATING    ANTS. 

In  the  foregoing  account  the  important  remedies  for  each  species  of 
ant  discussed  have  been  briefly  indicated.  A  more  detailed  description 
of  some  of  the  methods  of  control  or  extermination  follows: 

Excellent  success  has  been  had  in  destroying  these  ants  with  the  use 
of  bisulphid  of  carbon  applied  in  their  nests.  This  substance,  the 
writer  believes,  was  first  used  against  ants  by  Doctor  Howard,  in  the 
summer  of  1.S86.  The  method  consists  in  pouring  an  ounce  or  two  of 
the  bisulphid  into  each  of  a  number  of  holes  made  in  the  nest  with  a 
stick,  promptly  closing  the  holes  with  the  foot.  The  bisulphid  pene- 
trates through  the  underground  tunnels  and  kills  the  ants  in  enormous 
numbers  and,  if  applied  with  sufficient  liberality,  will  exterminate  the 
whole  colony. 

Whenever  the  nests  of  any  of  these  ants  can  not  be  located,  there  is 
no  other  resource  than  the  temporary  expedient  of  destroying  the  ants 
wherever  they  occur  in  the  house.  The  best  means  of  effecting  this  end 
is  to  attract  them  to  small  bits  of  sponge  moistened  with  sweetened 
water  and  placed  in  the  situations  where  they  are  most  numerous. 
These  sponges  may  be  collected  several  times  daily  and  the  ants 
swarming  into  them  destroj'ed  by  immersion  in  hot  water.  It  is 
reported  also  that  a  sirup  made  by  dissolving  borax  and  sugar  in  boil- 
ing water  will  effect  the  destruction  of  the  ants  readily  and  in  numbers. 
The  removal  of  the  attracting  suhstances,  wherever  practicable,  should 
always  be  the  first  step.  Ants  are  attracted  to  houses  by  food  mate- 
rials or  scattered  sugar  left  about  by  children,  and  the  nuisance  of  their 
presence  can  be  largely  eliminated  by  keeping  all  food  products  in  a 
pantrj'  or  storeroom  and  limiting  the  amount  of  such  products  as  strictly 
as  possible  to  daily  needs. 

That  it  is  possible  to  drive  ants  away  from  household  supplies  by  the 
use  of  repellent  substances,  particularly  camphor,  has  been  asserted. 
The  use  of  most  repellent  substances  in  connection  with  food  supplies 
would  be  impracticable.  Gum  camphor  has  recently  heen  the  subject 
of  a  careful  test  by  Dr.  William  T.  Watson,  of  Baltimore,  who  found 
that  while  having  slight  repellent  properties,  it  does  not  bring  any  really 
practical  benefit. 

Approved : 

James  Wilson, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

Washington,  D.  C,  May  24,  1907.  A»— u 

WAShingtos  :  GOVERNMENT   printing  OFFICE  :  Itll 


